MXGP World Champion Romain Febvre is not slowing down. After appearing at the annual supermoto Superbiker event in Belgium, VIP treatment as a spectator at the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas beckons whereupon he will fly from Los Angeles directly to Yamaha in Iwata to contest the last round of the Japanese Championship at former Grand Prix venue of Sugo.
The 23-year-old (24 on New Year’s Eve) is in demand after an astonishing 2015 with eight Grand Prix wins, victory in the USA and the Motocross of Nations. Febvre found time to talk about his achievements after the immense spectacle at Ernée where his double moto success in his first appearance for France closed an unforgettable campaign in which his profile soared from promising rookie to arguably the fastest motocrosser in the world.
“It has been an amazing season,” he exclaimed. “I still don’t believe I have the world title and to win at Ernée…I think I cannot be better in my career: to win that title, so many races and now the Nations. It will be difficult to do the same! I know everything came together this season; my fitness was good, the bike was amazing and the team did a great job. The confidence increased. I really need to take some time off to realise what I did.”
“I know that every person on the planet has a dream and most cannot realise it,” he said. “To know I have made it gives me so much confidence and almost some ‘tips’ for the future when I will have some bad moments. I’m a lucky boy.”
Febvre has been coping with increased levels of attention since the mid-point of the year and after winning his first MXGP in France (prophetic for the Nations) that was just the second GP success of his career to that point. From the fans to the industry to the media, there was little doubt that #461 was the most sought-after athlete in the melee of Ernée he admitted that he still needs to filter all the calls and requests that are coming his way.
“I need to get used to it!” he said. “And work on it, for sure, because I do not want to change my character. I think it is a good problem to have! For sure everything around me is becoming a bit crazy at the moment. I need to deal with it and I will learn more for next year. It is becoming difficult to walk in the paddock without anyone around me…but it is a nice problem to have.”
